1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to image processing and printing methods, and in particular, it relates to a method of printing oversized images.
2. Description of Related Art
When printing a document using a printer and a recording medium of a designated size (i.e. letter-sized paper), occasionally the data area of a page (i.e. the area of the page where data exist, excluding any white margin) will exceed the maximum printable area on the medium. For many printers, the maximum printable area is smaller than the size of the recording medium on which the document is to be printed. For example, many printers cannot print in a 0.2-inch margin at the edge of the paper, because such a margin is needed for the paper handling mechanism of the printer to handle the paper during printing. Thus, if the data area of a page extends to the full extent of the intended recording medium, it will exceed the maximum printable area.
There are several ways to handle a situation where the data area of a page exceeds the maximum printable area. One method is to reduce the size of the page image proportionally so that it fits within the maximum printable area. However, image size reduction may be unsatisfactory for users who wish to keep the accurate original size of the image in the printed document. Another method is to shift the image so that the left and top edges of the image are within the printable area, and cut off the data at the right side and/or bottom of the page that is outside of the maximum printable area. This method may cause the lost of important data. Yet another method is to allow the user to manually determine whether to reduce the image size or to print the image without size reduction.